The Past and the Present.

  My site for this week is Cape Town's District Six, which is a former inner-city residential area of the city. District Six is very well known for the fact that almost 60,000 of its inhabitants were forcibly removed by the apartheid regime during the 1970's. The area was so named in 1867, as the Sixth Municipal District of Cape Town and by the turn of the century it had become a large community predominantly made up of former slaves, merchants, artisans and immigrants, as well as a large population of Malay people brought to South Africa by the Dutch East India Company during its time in charge of the Cape Colony.  As such, after the Second World War, District Six formed a cosmopolitan mix of people. It was situated very close to the Cape Town docks and its residents were largely 'coloured' (to coin the South African term); including a large number of these 'Cape Malays', who were Muslim, as well as black Xhosa residents. There were also small populations of Indians, Afrikaners and whites, although these were most definitely minority populations.

  On 11 February 1966, the Government declared that District Six was to become a whites-only area, under the Group Areas Act, and removals would start in 1968. From this date to 1982, more than 60,000 people were forcibly removed and relocated to the sandy, bleak Cape Flats township, which is nearly 25km away. The government stated that these removals needed to take place in order to prevent inter-racial mixing and breeding, which was aid to cause conflict.  All of the old houses were bulldozed, although places of worship were left standing, and the Cape Technikon University was built on part of this land, which the government proceeded to rename Zonnebloem. However, most of the land was left undeveloped.

 Time Line of Some of the Most Important Events of and Leading up to Apartheid 

· 1651: Dutch settlers arrive in South Africa. In 1756, they import slaves from West Africa, Malaysia, and India, establishing the dominance of whites over non-whites in the region.

· 1700s: Riding on horseback and covered wagons, Dutch farmers (called Boers) migrate across land inhabited by Bantu and Khoi peoples. Armed with shotguns, the Boers seize land used by the tribes for cattle and sheep grazing -- the basis of their economy. Without land, the tribes must work on Boer farms to support themselves.

· 1867: Diamond mining begins in South Africa. Africans are given the most dangerous jobs, are paid far less than white workers, and are housed in fenced, patrolled barracks. Oppressive conditions and constant surveillance keep Africans from organizing for better wages and working conditions. 

· 1908: A constitutional convention is held to establish South African independence from Britain. The all-white government decides that non-whites can vote but cannot hold office. A few people in the new government object, believing that South Africa would be more stable if Africans were treated better.

· 1913: The Native Lands Act gives 7.3% of the country's land to Africans, who make up 80% of the population. Africans are prohibited from owning land outside their region. Africans are allowed to be on white land only if they are working for whites.

· 1936: Representation of Voters Act: This law weakens the political rights for Africans in some regions and allows them to vote only for white representatives.

· 1950: The Population Registration Act. This law classifies people into three racial groups: white, colored (mixed race or Asian), and native (African/black). Marriages between races are outlawed in order to maintain racial purity. · 1951: The Group Areas Act sets aside specific communities for each of the races (white, colored (mixed race or Indian), and native (African/black) ). The best areas and the majority of the land are reserved for whites. Non-whites are relocated into "reserves." Mixed-race families are forced to live separately. · 1952: Abolition of Passes and Coordination of Documents Act. This misleadingly-named law requires all Africans to carry identification booklets with their names, addresses, fingerprints, and other information. Africans are frequently stopped and harassed for their passes. Between 1948-1973, over ten million Africans were arrested because their passes were "not in order." Burning pass books becomes a common form of protest. · 1953: The Preservation of Separate Amenities Act establishes "separate but not necessarily equal" parks, beaches, post offices, and other public places for whites and non-whites. At right are signs for segregated toilets in English and Afrikaans.

Source: http://suedafrika.net/Medaia/Toilets.jpg

· 1953: Bantu Education Act: Through this law, the white government supervises the education of all blacks. Schools condition blacks to accept white domination. Non-whites cannot attend white universities.

· 1963: Nelson Mandela, head of the African National Congress, is jailed.

· 1980s: People and governments around the world launch an international campaign to boycott (not do business with) South Africa. Some countries ban the import of South African products, and citizens of many countries pressure major companies to pull out of South Africa. These actions have a crippling effect on the South African economy and weaken the government.

· 1991: South Africa President F.W. de Klerk repeals the rest of the apartheid laws and calls for the drafting of a new constitution.

· 1994: Elections are held. The United Nations sends 2,120 international observers to ensure the fairness of the elections. The African National Congress, representing South Africa's majority black population. Nelson Mandela, the African resistance leader who had been jailed for 27 years, is elected President.
· 1951: The Bantu Homelands Act. Through this law, the white government declares that the lands reserved for black Africans are independent nations. In this way, the government strips millions of blacks of their South African citizenship and forces them to become residents of their new "homelands." Blacks are now considered foreigners in white-controlled South Africa, and need passports to enter. Blacks only enter to serve whites in menial jobs.·



(NB: This timeline is taken in part from http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/discrim/race_b_at_print.asp)